Appeals Exhausted, Astor Case Ends as Son Is Sent to Jail

Anthony D. Marshall, the disgraced 89-year-old son of the Manhattan society doyenne Brooke Astor, finally surrendered on Friday to begin a prison sentence for stealing millions of dollars from his mother during her final years of life, ending a seven-year legal odyssey that came to define his own waning years.

His life of wealth and accomplishment — receiving a Purple Heart in World War II, serving as a United States diplomat and producing Broadway shows — took an ignominious turn in 2006, when his son Philip alleged in court papers that his father had unduly enriched himself from Mrs. Astor’s fortune.

Mr. Marshall and Francis X. Morrissey Jr., an Astor family lawyer, were convicted in 2009 of stealing tens of millions of dollars from Mrs. Astor. Prosecutors said the two tricked Mrs. Astor, who by then was more than 100 and had Alzheimer’s disease, into altering her will to give tens of millions of dollars to Mr. Marshall. She died in 2007 at age 105.

Both men were sentenced to one to three years in prison but allowed to remain free pending the outcome of their appeals. Those appeals were exhausted this month, when New York State’s highest court declined to review the case.

So on Friday afternoon, Mr. Marshall, in an open-neck, light-blue sweater with suede elbow patches, blue sweat pants and plaid slippers, rolled up to State Supreme Court in Manhattan in a black town car, accompanied by his wife, Charlene Marshall, and got into a wheelchair. Ms. Marshall pushed him into the courthouse, surrounded by a throng of photographers, and wept as court officers scanned her husband with a metal detector.

At 2:28 p.m., the Marshalls entered the courtroom. Justice A. Kirke Bartley Jr. gave Mr. Marshall an opportunity to speak. He declined through his lawyer, Kenneth E. Warner.

The judge seemed moved by the sight of a wheelchair-bound old man heading off to prison.

“Firstly, I wish to say I take no pleasure in following my duty,” Justice Bartley told Mr. Marshall. “I am, in point of fact, fulfilling my oath. I know it is not dissimilar to the oath you took when you became a Marine officer.”

Photo

Anthony D. Marshall, seated, son of Brooke Astor, was joined in court on Friday by his wife, Charlene Marshall. His prison sentence is one to three years.Credit
John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

The judge said he had received a letter from Mr. Marshall’s son Alec, expressing concern about his father’s well-being. In the letter, the judge said, Alec said he had not spoken to his father in some years, but clearly wished to be back in touch. The judge took the opportunity to counsel the convict.

“I would strongly urge Mr. Marshall that in some form or fashion you receive your son back into your life, before it is too late,” Justice Bartley said. “Life is far too short. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that.”

Mr. Marshall’s face was expressionless during the brief proceeding. At 2:45 p.m., he was pushed out a rear door by court officers.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

Mr. Morrissey, 70, had been taken into custody in the same courtroom on Thursday.

Prosecutors said in court this week that correction officials anticipated sending Mr. Marshall, who has Parkinson’s disease and heart problems, to one of the state prison system’s five regional medical units, which are similar to skilled nursing facilities on prison grounds.

Mr. Marshall’s lawyers issued a statement on Friday afternoon denouncing the law that requires imprisonment for his crime. “Incarceration will simply make his final days more tortured and undoubtedly fewer in number,” it said.

But Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement that the sentence was overdue and that the case “raised public awareness of the silent epidemic of elder abuse,” adding, “The needs and rights of older Americans are too often forgotten or ignored, and their voices silenced.”

Philip Marshall’s lawsuit accused his father of neglecting Mrs. Astor and wrongly obtaining her money. The suit sought that his father be replaced as her legal guardian by Annette de la Renta, a friend of Mrs. Astor’s and wife of the designer Oscar de la Renta.

The allegations of neglect were never proved, but the money aspect was pursued by the Manhattan district attorney, leading to the unlikely appearance in criminal court in 2007 of Mr. Marshall, clutching a wooden cane with a gold-colored handle, seemingly offended at what had brought him there: an 18-count indictment charging him with stealing millions from his famous, beloved mother.

On Friday, after Mr. Marshall was led off, his wife paused briefly to speak to reporters as she left the courthouse.

“My heart has been ripped out of my body,” she said.

Correction: June 25, 2013

An article on Saturday about the surrender of Anthony D. Marshall to serve his prison sentence for stealing from his mother, the society doyenne and philanthropist Brooke Astor, who died at 105, misstated the nickname of one of his sons, Alexander Marshall. He goes by Alec, not Alex.

A version of this article appears in print on June 22, 2013, on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Appeals Exhausted, Astor Case Ends as Son Is Sent to Jail. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe